What do you get when you combine company culture and brand values? A magical force called brand culture. Brand culture is how employees interpret and embody brand values, and how that influences external-facing brand perceptions.

To understand the true power of brand culture, look no further than the incredible internal brands found at Southwest, Publix and Moz. We’ll use these examples to explore how marketers and leaders can strengthen internal values to make their company more competitive.

When most people think about company culture, images of in-office ping pong tables and paid vacation often come to mind. Brand cultures take these ordinary scenes of a corporate environment and infuse them with the meaningful influence of brand values.

You see, a corporate culture without brand values is merely a glorified attendance policy. It tells employees how they should act, but it doesn’t explain why those actions matter. Alternatively, a corporate culture infused with brand values gives employees purpose. It determines how people should interact with customers, and how conflicts can be resolved. It gives you standards to uphold; a mission to follow.